I arrived to have a few beers with a friend of mine, and we were happy to see a nice mix of beers on tap. After the second, we called it quits and I decided to order a burger to go and take home to finish watching the Cowboys game. When the burger came out, “Happy September 11th” was written on the box, with the “11” being the WTC and a plane flying towards it.

The poster reports he complained to the bartender and that a manager gave him a refund, although he did not receive an apology and “left, frustrated that something so simple could not be resolved or even discussed with the very people who should want to understand why it was offensive.”

As he left Petrol, the poster said, “I heard from behind the bar ‘Allahu Akbar…’ repeated several times.”

Now maybe it’s bad luck for them that I happened to be working near WTC and that I also happen to be a muslim (admittedly not the best muslim) – but as an American first and foremost, I find that kind of cavalier attitude offensive at best, and when coupled with the fact that it was coming from a service provider, prejudice and anti-American at worst.

Fullelove, who was not at the bar when the incident occurred, said he was alerted to the situation this afternoon through Twitter. In a series of apologetic tweets, he said he was “mortified” by the news and acted immediately to fire the person who drew on the burger box. Fullelove also posted his cellphone number so he could speak to the customer who wrote the review and to inquiring media.

Fullelove said he eventually spoke with and apologized to the customer. Having done that, he said, he can better assess what happened beyond the offensive drawing and decide whether to take additional disciplinary action.

I’ve known Fullelove for a couple of years and was familiar with him when he ran a coffee shop downtown before that. I have never seen or heard anything to suggest he would approve of this kind of behavior.

UPDATE: The original Yelp post has been updated with this comment:

I was able to speak to the owner and have a good conversation about my experience at Petrol. He assured me the person(s) responsible will be terminated and the underlying issues will be addressed in short order. He sounded sincere and I appreciated his swift response once he was notified of the issues by the local community. For my part, I am looking forward to putting this to rest – I suppose only time will tell if the changes stick. I’m hopeful they will.

“They” are AMERICANS first and they had just been treated with PREJUDICE based on nothing more than just looks. The only people who “deserve an *ss whooping” are the ignorant rednecks who think it’s OK to treat people disrespectfully based on racial profiling. I’m glad he spoke up. Civil rights are for EVERYONE in this country, not just rednecks.

“michele says: @ Cielo…no self respecting American would have drawn such a despicable scene. All your ‘victim’ does is perpetuate the stereotype that you accuse ‘rednecks’ of perpetuating.”

Ummm exactly how would that be, Michelle? By calling attention to the fact that he, an American Muslim, was subjected to poor treatment both as a customer and as a citizen by some witless dolt in the kitchen? How exactly does that perpetuate a stereotype? And what would that stereotype be?

Unless you’re confused about who was the victim and who was the perpetrator of this tasteless little prank …. there seems to be a lot of that going around in these comments.

Cielo, why don’t you go out on the town tonight and pick a person you perceive to be a ‘redneck’ and tell him what you think of him. It’s good to get these things off your chest up front and personal instead of on a blog.

you can’t screen for a-h-ism. You have to trust that you can’t always judge people well before you hire them, but you can fire them. If you think you can size someone up in a glance, you are just like the guy that needed to be fired.

So, did it occur to you people to call Homeland Security on this TERRORIST! If you don’t then I say you are doing your country a great disservice. Free speech has its’ limits and this CLEARLY crossed the line.

For those people screaming it wasn’t against the law, there are company rules that a person must follow when working and I’m sure that no business would put up with an employee that did something like that. It’s horrible and they did the right thing by firing this person. A person doesn’t have to break the law to be dismissed from their position. What the employee did was beyond wrong and a slap in the face to all Americans. If he wants to be funny, send him back home because he doesn’t deserve to be in this great country.

No, he didn’t say anything illegal. However, you should still call Homeland Security. That kind of behavior is exactly what needs to be reported so that the person can be included on watch lists; after all, he has indicated support for terrorist activities.

If people had properly reported activity like this before, we may not have had the Ft. Hood shooting.

I agree that this person’s lifestyle should be looked into further by homeland security. I agree that we live in a time of frequent hypersensitivity to certain issues, but when it comes to concerns for our security, you can can never be too careful in my opinion.

Ed C and Curtis- 10 years later… and you are still actin a fool and forgetting what America is about. These people have EVERY RIGHT to say what they want- it doesn’t make them a terrorist. Let them face the consequences from saying something stupid and move on. What is even more frightening than 9/11? “FREEDOM LOVIN’ PATRIOTS” like you who would advocate revoking of my freedom, of the very brief blink in existence that God has granted me, because of something I said. That is terrifying and that makes you a treasonous enemy.

Sigh. A number of folks don’t seem to get the point of the story. The person who wrote the offensive little joke was not the Muslim, the customer was. The person who wrote it was making a mean-spirited and bigoted joke at the customer’s expense.

Holy hell! You people are nuts if you believe that Homeland Security should be notified! Freaks! What have they done to your brains? THINK for yourselves for ONCE in your life before you bring down your entire nation. Your forefathers are rolling over in their graves to hear you condemn your fellow man for exercising his freedom of speech- one of the TRUE freedoms that were valiantly fought for.

liesha says: “I agree that this person’s lifestyle should be looked into further by homeland security. I agree that we live in a time of frequent hypersensitivity to certain issues, but when it comes to concerns for our security, you can can never be too careful in my opinion.”

So profiling is good? 4th amendment rights should be forgone due to lifestyle? Scary what some of the stupid among us are willing to submit to in the name of “security”. It’s always OK until it happens to you.

Good grief, Commandrea, can you possibly engage in stronger hyperbolic overreaction?

How is reporting this kind of behavior to Homeland Security a bad thing? REPORTING IT. They don’t have to act on it. They can assess any potential threat. They can decide if the guy is just a butt or a potential terrorist. But YOU would have people report nothing, eh? Ever? What would YOU report? What kind of behavior do YOU believe would indicate a possible problem? At what point would YOU believe a call should be made? I guess YOU are the expert who decides what is and what isn’t a problem? How is my reporting something a violation of their rights, and threaten to bring down America?

Your leftist hyperbole is beyond ridiculous. Like most leftist hyperbole…

You would have been one of the ones who apologized profusely to Major Nidal, while he planned to kill your citizens. Shame on you. You should be a part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

I am offended by this person claiming to be offended. I am also offended by those who sympathize with the offended. Clearly they must be censored by the keeper of this blog. Otherwise I will remain offended. And we can’t have that, obviously.

I remember years ago when President Reagan was shot and a young Black women working in the Harris County Precinct one Constables office remarked that she hoped someone else would go after him and finish the job. She was fired but the Supreme court said the she had to be rehired because firing her violated her free speech rights.

The OK City incident showed that one should really consider the collateral damages before making that sort of “statement”. McVeigh would have had a lot more sympathy from the population if the daycare had not been in the building.

No CollinLeon, he would not have received any sympathy for committing a treasonous terroristic act against innocent people. He claimed he was made because of Ruby Ridge and Waco, well those government employees were doing their job, and rightly so. Since obviously based on the outcome those people were threats to the law and order of the United States. If the government employees were guilty of anything, it is of being too light handed and letting those incidents drag out, rather than give them an ultimatum and end it. The nutcases in those incidents had ample oppurtunity to comply with the law.

YES, Steve. I was replying to TRL’s original post, not willrogertx’s confusing reply.

Petrol Station is a privately owned bar, the owner has the right to fire anyone for (almost) any reason. If this were a County office, like in TRL’s example, the employee would have more options for recourse. That’s all I said.

This is America. We all have the right to express angry, stupid, bold, and controversial feelings, but we also can face consequenses. I can say that I think HEB is the greatest store on Earth, but if I work for Kroger, I can be fired for promoting the competition. If I am a politician, I have the right to claim that the country would be better off if my opponent took a bullet, but I could and should be voted out or even recalled for it, and that could be probable cause to investigate my connections to people who might have a bullet for my opponent. What you have a right to do and what you can get away with are not the same thing. You should not be prosecuted for what you say, and the government has no right to persecute you for what you say, but nobody has to accomodate you or give you a platform to say what you want to say.

Same old story with this place. A couple of years ago on my first visit to the Petrol Station, the bartender kept calling me Obie Wan Kenobie. Not knowing what to think about that, I came back for a second try and was hit in the head by an unsupervised kid kicking a soccer ball. Could never figure if this place was a day care for children or a bar for adults to relax. There are better places in Houston to enjoy a brew.

I’m not surprised. Sad, but not surprised. I’m sorry this happened to you Tarek, and I’m glad you went public with it. Sounds like more than one guy needed to lose his job though. Hope you didn’t eat that burger…. 😉

Compatriot – There’s no comparison being called a Star Wars character and what was written on the to-go box, or what was said as the customer left. It’s a neighborhood restaurant and bar, so you’re going to have parents bringing their kids at times. They have great burgers, the most unique selection of craft beer in town, and I like the laid-back atmosphere, and the bartenders personality. But there’s no excuse for what this customer encountered.

I agree with a few other posts: besides the “artist” responsible for the drawing, the manager and any other employees who knew what was going on but didn’t speak up or voice their concerns to the owner before the post went on Yelp should be terminated or forced to endure one of those BS sensitivity courses (or both). Props to Tarek for being so cool about it, because had this happened to me I know I would have lost my cool then been on my own crusade to make sure the business got shut down.

I have been going to Petrol Station for over a year and a half and the atmosphere has changed dramatically. I sincerely hope this is a wake up call to drop the attitude. There has been a negative vibe there lately from the customers who all think they ‘discovered the bar’, to staff apparently making jokes at anothers expence. I hope something positive can come out of this and everyone chills out. Don’t let this great beer bar turn in to Doucheville, TX!

I always get a kick out of bartentenders having a superior attitude and yes, I have noticed with some of the servers there, but not all. Good bar, good food but you have to be choosy about the times you go.

Kabul ain’t The United States..and their nation only now is getting introduced to the idea of freedom of speech..there’s more than 200 years ahead of them before they have any idea what we have come to learn..Still there are many of us today who have not yet understand what that is..

Sooo…Freedom of speech does not apply in Texas? I fought(2 tours) and lost a son(in Afghanistan) to defend your right to spew whatever you want…yet you say no? I have a silver Star with clusters and my son has 2 SS’s and 2 PH’s..are you saying that he died for nothing? He died for YOUR right to speak freely…However you want to hate..He still gave his life for you…

Superwood, he died as a direct RESULT of that kind of hatred. There are MANY legal reasons to have fired this clown, not least of which was his ability to alienate customers. Customers is what the business relies on to stay in business. What YOU call “free speech”, I call “hate speech”. That is NOT a protected right. I question your claims too. I very much doubt you or your son were ever in the military. I believe you are a liar.

I’m not sure I follow you. You say the employee has the right to draw threatening pictures on a to-go box but we don’t have the right to say that is wrong and his employer should fire him if they want any future business?

Since when is free speech allowed when representing a comapany? I was also in the military, and 100% can say we were not allowed to express our opinions while dressed in military uniform. If I wanted to go to a demonstration or rally, sobeit. But I couldn’t do it while in uniform. THis man was at work. He was representing that bar/restaurant. Obviously he was not representing it in a manner the owner liked. If he wanted to spew his hate, go for it. But he should have done it on his own time. If he waited until he got off work, then hand out fliers saying Happy Sept 11, he would still have a job.

Try reading the article. There isn’t a freedom of speech issue here. No one was arrested nor did the government, at any level, play any part anywhere in this story. The first amendment doesn’t save you from getting fired when you treat customers badly (which is putting it mildly).

I’m with sdrawkcab. I served in the military, and I doubt very seriously that Superwood ever served. Let’s examine his post…

“I have a silver Star with clusters and my son has 2 SS’s and 2 PH’s.”

A Silver Star with clusters IS getting multiple Silver Stars. Why would he say he got a Silver Star with clusters, and his son got two Silver Stars? It’s saying the same thing two different ways.

By the way, it would be highly unusual for one person to receive two Silver Stars. A quick questioning of the person about his unit or his military training would answer anything anyone would need to know. I doubt that anyone that received two Silver Stars would not understand the doctrines of free speech, and how it applies to GOVERNMENT censorship, not private enterprise, and for an employee to keep his mouth SHUT while working for a non-governmental AT WILL employer.

So Superwood, I call BS. And you should look up a term called “Stolen Valor”. You lefties are pathetic with that problem.

This guy exercised his freedom of speech by doing what he did.
The boss excercised HIS freedom of speech by firing the employee’s worthless a**. (Remember, the boss has rights, too. As does the owner.)
Rest easy, wood….No ones rights were violated.

Then the hateful scumbag will become a terrorist..or bank robber or something like that and maybe kill someone in a desperate act, to survive..

You’re a moderate and yet you believe what you wrote here. It’s emotion I suppose, and you really didn’t mean it because if you did..then , let’s hope the persons he might kill are all scumbags who need to get killed by another scumbag..Jeepers my friend you have no room , no place in your heart, at all for forgiveness??? What if every incident which outraged bystanders like you were settled in the way you suggest….There would be far fewer people in the world..

BTW the invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan outraged Muslims worldwide..energized the Taliban and turned a tragic in September day, ten years ago in to a much larger tragedy today..with each passing day a tragedy for some family somewhere…it ain’t over!

“I’ve known Fullelove for a couple of years and was familiar with him when he ran a coffee shop downtown before that. I have never seen or heard anything to suggest he would approve of this kind of behavior.”

Then why did you write the story? The place has 100+ reviews on yelp and nearly all of them positive except for “burger was too big”. You’re the worst kind of “reporter”, a Media Whore.

And the person actually took the food home and drank something from that place? Those people will slip you a cancer cell or you’ll be digesting spit. My suggestion is to go to a doctor and get a shot. The place needs to shut down. Got some real brave enemies here but someday a real man will take control of that situation. Like my friend who broke the jaw and knocked out the little twit who told him america got what they deserved.

In the end the fundamental right of free speech via the First Amendment will prevail and the individual/s who sent the message will have their right protected. It may take a while and in the mean time they may have been fired — but in the end they will have their job back and lost wages paid. Free speech rights are worth protecting — even for idiots.

Cletus, you don’t know what you’re talking about. The First Amendment right to free speech does NOT mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without repercussion. You cannot yell “Fire” in a crowded theater. You cannot slander or libel someone. You cannot use profane language in the presence of sensitive ears.

AND you cannot irritate your boss’s customers by spouting offensive slogans and pictures. You do that, you’re embarrassing the boss and misrepresenting him, certainly costing him business. You get justifiably fired.

The First Amendment protects the citizen’s right to free speech from GOVERNMENT retribution, not from public retribution.

Thelma, honey, just exactly WHO are you trying to kick out of the country? The Muslim customer who received the offensive burger box? He’s certainly not the one who drew the offending graphic, nor is he advocating that anybody “get over it.” He’s not suggesting that 9/11 was inconsequential. He states that he is an American first and foremost and was deeply offended by the “Happy September 11″ artwork.

Are you trying to have the jerk who drew on the box deported? Assuming that he, too, is an American citizen, just where do you plan to deport him TO? Reading comprehension is a GOOD THING.

I have been to Petrol many times. Sure…what this guy drew on the box was stupid and he deserved to get canned for it but you idiots using this as a reason to slam the bar and talk about how bad the employees are is ridiculous. I go in there every couple of weeks and often get greeted by name. They are good guys to talk beer with and if you dont act like a douche then they dont treat you like a douche. He was one bad apple….

Homeland Security? Kick him outta the country? Freedom of speech goes too far? Man, are y’all serious?!!! This country was founded on the basis of being able to speak one’s mind regardless of the popularity of one’s opinion! The need for political correctness in America today is one of the major forces driving corruption in our society and government! We have used humor, satire, and celebration to mark tragedy for centuries. But, it seems in the last 15 years, that everybody loves the smell of their own shit and expects everybody else to love it too! Get over it! The owner fired the idiot…issue resolved! Classless and tasteless? Yes. A criminal act? Hell no…you gotta be kidding me!!!

The trouble is far too many of the people making those comments are under the mistaken impression that the employee was the Muslim “celebrating” the anniversary of 9/11. The reality is just exactly the opposite: the customer is Muslim, and the person who wrote the stupid comment was making a joke at his expense.

If the commenters had had their facts straight before speaking up, you’d never have seen most of those comments.

Lets see…Texas is a ‘right to work’ state. So while this anti-American piece of crap has every right to express himself, his boss has every right to fire his sorry a**.
Or does the employees rights supercede the boss’? Don’t THINK so!
No one impeded his freedom of expression. And his boss utilized HIS OWN freedom of expression…by firing his worthless butt.
The guy can go find a job at ANY convenience store, gas station, or mosque.
Loser.

One bad apple destroys the bunch. I never like the attitude at that place anyway. The workers always seemed too good to be serving you. I’ll leave it for the good ‘ol boys of the neighborhood who seem to love it so much.

I thought good Muslims DON”T DRINK? who cares if it was a muslim or not. how would you know? 9/11 is not a happy occasion for anyone other than bin laden. So to wish ANYONE Happy 9/11 is just bad form, crude, rude, shows no class or taste, and who wants them handling your burger?

I think a lot of you guys are confused. I am reasonably sure that the offender in this case (the bar employee) was a white US citizen. His poor choice of humor was intended to embarrass and intimidate a person of Arab (ie Muslim) background. Calls of “send his butt back to his home country” make no sense.

Yeah, I’ve been reading the comments here and some people DO seem to have the actors in this little drama confused. The Customer was Muslim (although not a devout one as he says … he was having a BEER for heaven’s sake). The note and the comments were directed AT HIM. He sounds like an all right guy, and the comments and note were completely immature and inappropriate.

I am “brown” as you say and I go to Petrol Station all the time. The crew that works there are not racist at all. I even know the guy that wrote the message and he’s a good person he just made a really stupid, completely over the line “joke”

It should not have happened. However, it would have been better for the customer to have asked to see the manager immediately instead of playing the victim and broadcasting it on a public forum like Yelp. Give them a chance to do the right thing before you drag them through the mud. As wonderful as the internet is, too many people do not know how (and when) to use it.

The poster reports he complained to the bartender and that a manager gave him a refund, although he did not receive an apology and “left, frustrated that something so simple could not be resolved or even discussed with the very people who should want to understand why it was offensive.”

He did try. He was given his money back by the manager but nothing else (not even an apology) happened until the owner was notified.

The muslim terrorist who wrote the message will now sue his former employer and win millions. Instead of being fired, he should simply have been shot as a potential terror threat. At the very least a permanent trip to Gitmo is in order. As a concerned American, I want him investigated as a threat to national security and detained – somewhere.

I’ve been going to Petrol for years and it’s a great bar with usually good people. It’s too bad one jerk behind the counter did this, but don’t hold it against Ben or the entire bar. Sounds like Ben handled this really well.

I’m disappointed by many of these over-the-top reactions. Kill him? Deport him? Never allow him to work again? Please. The guy was trying to be cute but instead was insensitive. I bet he’d take it back if he could. He made a mistake and lost his job because of it. That’s punishment enough.

Ronnie is probably going – “wtf did I start?” I’ve never seen so many comments on here. That being said Petrol Station did the right thing. Texas is a right to work state. Unless you’re protected by the federal laws (sex, age, race, etc) you can be fired for any (or no) reason. I’ve heard many good things about Petrol Station and now I’ll have to go out of my way to spend some $ there.

I guess I don’t get the uproar in the comments. Do people think the employee shouldn’t have been fired? Just because the customer was a Muslim?
Well if so, bull crap. Freedom of speech, idiot lost his job. He’s not in prison or being tortured somewhere for being an idiot.

Was it an offended Muslim ridiculed by a WASP bartender? Who knows the skinny on this one? I could have sworn the original article had the offended fella mentioning it was one muslim doing what was thought to be a secret handshake to another muslim. Maybe I imagined that was in the article at one time. It’s not there now.

Ronnie, man, why do you even bother? What’s the Chron’s policy on jumping into the comment page to clarify misconceptions anyway? Sweet Jesus, you would be there all day on this one. Look, I know the guy who got fired, he’s a white guy who doesn’t have a bigoted bone in his body. I go to the bar frequently and you can’t even see outside from Petrol’s kitchen, so he would have had no idea who that box with the dumb joke was getting sent out to. Unfortunatly is was this guy’s burger. It got worse when the manager on duty blew the customer off when he said he was offended. He never should have let him leave the bar angry.

Did anyone verify that the guy that wrote the review is actually a Muslim from NYC? It just seems improbable that you’d align the stars just right to have a Muslim that was at the WTC on September 11th show up at a bar on September 11th.

This string of notes is amazing…
Let’s see…
Irresponsible employee makes insensitive slur to a customer.
Upstanding, responsible owner (Ben Fullelove) makes apology to customer (accepted and appreciated by customer) and fires irresponsible employee for causing damage to his business.
End of story.